1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to thin flexible adhesive bandages and their application to wounds on the human skin.
More specifically, the present invention concerns a particular structural arrangement of common bandage components to provide an improved system for removing a bandage from its packaging and then applying the bandage to a wound on the skin.
2. Prior Art
A most thorough discussion of wound dressings has been recently provided by Gilbert in his U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,381 (1991), and it would be redundant to repeat a historical review of prior art and improvements to bandages in light of the enormity of what has already been said, with a possible exception of merely recognizing here that there are known in the prior art numerous application systems for many bandages which utilize common components but are distinguished by their particular constructional arrangements which in turn control how the bandage is used.
For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,381 (1991), Gilbert provides embodiments of his bandage, which need be distinguished both structurally and in their application from the present invention. In one embodiment, Gilbert describes an adhesive film having two release sheets, one of shorter length than the other, but each strippably adhered to an adhesive coating on a bandage film, and the shorter sheet folded back a short distance to form a tab. An end of the longer sheet overlies said gripping tab to form a second tab whereby both tabs may be simultaneously pulled by the fingers to partially strip away the release sheets while also manipulating the bandage for uniform application over a wound. In another embodiment both tabs are folded back, but in either case the release sheets of Gilbert are not folded back completely across their inner layers to extend beyond the ends of the bandage so as to provide pull tabs within ends of the package. Further, the bandages of Gilbert must first be physically removed from their packages before pulling their tabs to apply them, while in contrast the bandage of the present invention provides for removal of a release sheet simultaneously with removal of its package thereby allowing application of the bandage by a small adhering tab with only one hand when required.
Another bandage which should be distinguished is described by Johns in U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,228 (1990) where its package is said to act as means for application to a skin area with opening of the package in a single step. Although the backing sheets of Johns are stripped away from his bandage along with the package, the arrangement of the bandage is structurally different from that of the present invention because Johns' bandage is folded within its package, with adhesive facing out and in contact with a strippable backing layer attached to the package interior so that when the package is opened by spreading open its halves, the adhesive of the bandage is exposed for placement on the skin as the package is pulled apart. This application necessarily requires the use of two hands, as should be further distinguished from the present invention which may allow its application by the use of only one hand.
Other bandage systems having common structural components are known as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,928,680 and 4,917,929, but they also do not provide the advantages of the present invention.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a structural composition of a bandage and its component parts which allow virtual complete removal of its package and protective backing strips in a single step thereby furnishing a bandage with an exposed adhesive layer for simplified application to a wound on the human skin with only one hand. This objective is achieved in the present invention.